Education-plank-AI
Allegheny Institute: Policy Brief: Too Many School Districts Not Up to Standards http://www.alleghenyinstitute.org/briefs/vol3no34.pdf July 17, 2003 Allegheny County school districts are handing property owners additional millage increases to fund higher operating costs. Year in and year out districts ask for more and more money to fund a system that by and large produces inadequate results. Throwing money at a problem rarely solves it. This is the current situation in the Commonwealth and Allegheny County school districts are spending large amounts of money on education yet too many of our students are ranked near the bottom in academic achievement as measured by national SAT scores. In 2001, the national average SAT score was 1020, Pennsylvania tied with North Carolina for 45th out of 50 states in SAT proficiency with a score of 998. Among Allegheny County's 43 school districts, 23 districts (53 percent) scored below the state average. Of these 23 districts, 13 (30 percent) ranked below the District of Columbia while another 4 ranked just ahead of or tied with DC which ranked 51st. We grouped the County districts into three categories: â€œGood Performanceâ€? (those with SAT scores at least 20 points greater than the national average of 1020); â€œAverage Performanceâ€? (those with scores within 20 points of the national average); and â€œPoor Performanceâ€? (those with scores 20 or more points lower than the national average). There were 8 districts (18.6 percent) classified as Good, 11 (26 percent) Average districts and 24 (55.8 percent) Poor districts. Increasing operating expenditures is not the answer. Looking at all 43 districts shows that SAT scores are negatively correlated with operating expenditures per pupil. That is, on average, as operating expenditures per pupil increase, SAT scores are likely to decrease. And as for the argument that richer districts spend more than poorer districts and therefore have better academic performance, the evidence is not supportive. What we found was that those districts categorized as Good Performance on average actually spent less per pupil than those categorized as Poor Performance and Average Performance ($8,791, $8,817,and $8,917 respectively). All County districts spent more than the national average of $7,079 per pupil. Among the County's school districts SAT scores and student-teacher ratios are positively correlated as student-teacher ratios decrease, SAT scores also decrease. This is just the opposite of what educators tell us will happen. They claim that as class sizes get smaller, academic performance will increase. The national average student-teacher ratio in 2001 was 16 students per classroom teacher. In Allegheny County that average was 15.5 to 1. In fact, the worst performing schools in the County: Duquesne, Wilkinsburg, and Clairton had the smallest student teacher ratios (all under 13 to 1). Teacher salaries, the largest component of operating expenditures, are on average 23 percent higher in Allegheny County than the national average of $42,898. The top paying school district, Gateway, pays 55 percent higher than the national average, while South Allegheny's pay rate was virtually equaled the national average. Teacher salaries are positively correlated to SAT scores in the sample, however, it is important to note that teachers' pay is not tied to academic achievement instead it is tied to measures such as longevity. For example, the teachers in the Gateway school district averaged 20.2 years of service in 2001 while teachers in the South Allegheny school district averaged 14.3 years. The average tenure for a teacher in Allegheny County is 16.8 years. All in all, there is no evidence from Allegheny County school districts to suggest that more money is the solution for poorly performing districts, or even the average performing districts. What is needed is a completely new approach that stresses accountability and commitment to quality performance. Starting new programs and trying new gimmicks is an expensive, dead end road. Those in charge of our schools should be forced to show better results. category: Planks_from_elsewhere